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Even though we heard about a helicopter tour crash at Pearl Harbor. We decided to go ahead and do one here at Kauai. It was with the Blue Hawaiian Helicopter and it was well worth doing, we loved every second of it. I was worried a little about my weight though. If you weighed over 250 ponds it would cost us extra. I knew I weighed around 235 when we came to Hawaii, but with all the great food I was not sure how much I had gained. Well I was ok, they did not tell me what I weighed though, I guess it was due to the computer did all the weights and then assigned where you would set in the hello. I was in the middle in the back of the hello, so I did not have the best seat but I could see alright. I have a few pictures but they do not do it Justus. If you are at all interested you can see the hello ride that Charlotte and I was on by going to You Tube and Looking for Hello Ride in Kauai Hawaii, there are six of them and they are about ten min. long.

Afterwards we spent the rest of the last day hanging around the resort. Then we had a say good buy dinner with the group.

Up and ready to do some site seeing. After breakfast we boarded the bus and headed out. This island is so beautiful, their has been several movies made on here. King Kong, Jurassic Park, Blue Hawaii, and others that I can’t remember. Our first stop was a sugar plantation called Grove Farm. The Wilcox family moved here in 1837. Although we did not see any sugar cane where we were which was their home, it was beautiful there.

After words we headed up to Waimea Canyon State Park. It was a beautiful ride up to the top, you could look down on the bay and see the beaches, and Island off in the distance. We were told that this canyon is the Grand Canyon of Hawaii. Only 30% of this island is inhabited, the rest is mountains and rain forest. it receives 480 inches of rain each year thus all the water falls.

After coming back down we stopped in Koloa around some local restaurants and of course stores. Being from Texas we haven’t had any Mexican food since we left the mainland. We noticed a restaurant called Tortilla Republic, so we decided to try it. We both order the pulled pork burrito. It was wonderful, the pork had a lot better flavor than the pork at the luau.

Later that afternoon a lot of the group gathered around the fire pit and enjoyed just visiting with one another.

We are leaving Maui and our flight does not leave until around 11:30. So we slept in again, then we met our friends down for breakfast. after retrieving our luggage from our room we set down in the lobby waiting for our bus to the airport. After saying one last goodbye we loaded up for the long ride to the airport. We passed by a Krispy Kreme doughnut shop, it made me think about the new one they had built back home in Amarillo. We have a local donut shop back home called The Donut Stop and they or hard to beat. Anyway the Krispy Kreme did not last long before they closed their doors.

After getting to the airport we boarded the plane for the 45 min flight to Kauai. It was a very cloudy day but as the plane flew over Pearl there was an opening in the clouds, I could see the Arizona and the Missouri down below. After landing we went to a shopping mall that had several places to eat so we could get some lunch. We loaded back on the bus and headed back pass the airport to the Kauai Beach Resort. We spent the rest of the day walking around and looking over the beach, then to Shutters Lounge on site for dinner. I had a great burger and fries and Charlotte had a veggie Pizza.

After the boat tour Charlotte and Marg shopped around. I went and set under the Banyan tree in the park. I always enjoy people watching, and visiting with the other men setting around. Charlotte always worries about getting something for the kids and grandkids when we travel. Well she had some luck finding some stuff which made her fill better. While waiting for a trolley to take us back to the hotel we looked at the remnant of an old fort, and a few cannon’s.

After words we made it back to the hotel. We arranged to meet with Herman and Marg for dinner. This was their last day for they were heading back home to Canada the next morning, and we will be moving on to the next island.

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We opted to do the whale watch, so we did not have to be down in the lobby till around 10am. We slept in if you want to call 07:00 sleeping in. We went down for breakfast, then back up to get ready for the day. The tour group paid for our taxi ride to the Lahaina Harbor. We received our tickets for the boat ride, then set around visiting with our new friends from Canada. Herman and I set and visited while the girls walk around the park across the street. There is a tree in the park that covers the whole block, It is called a Banyan tree. If you look up Banyan Tree Park you can see more of the tree. We boarded the boat and headed out, Charlotte went up top side and Herman, Marg and my self stayed down in the shade. We all had good views for the captain made sure to turn the boat where every on could see the whales. All the trips that Charlotte and I have taken this was our first whale watching tour, we realized we should have taken theses tours on our Alaskan trips.

After we were through sightseeing we came back to the Motel. Went up to our room and relax out on the balcony for a while and just enjoyed the tropical breeze. We dressed up a little and met the group down in the lobby. The hotel staff escorted us to the Luau which was adjacent to the Royal Lahaina. The sunset was beautiful, they announced that if any one wanted to see them bring the cooked pig up from the fire pit to come on up. There was such a crowd their, we decided to just stay seated. I was disappointed a little in the Luau for it was so over crowed you could not get around very well. I feel it would have been better if they could have smaller crowds. The food was great though, well not all of it, the poi was not to good all though there were some people who liked it.

It started raining about the time we were to eat. So the staff passed out plastic ponchos to every one. the hard rain held off until every one was through eating. The dancers started and it was neat watching them, but the rain started getting harder. Was also getting windy which made it cold, Charlotte and I decided to leave and go back to the room. After we made it to the room we looked out the window and the rain was coming down sideways instead of straight down. I told Charlotte that this looks like the way it rains at home.

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We were up and had breakfast, loved the view from the restaurant. After words we loaded on to two smaller buses. we found out later why we needed the smaller bus. After we drove awhile we headed into the Haleakla Volcano National Park. The roads had a lot of sharp S curves, thus the need for smaller buses. On the way up we saw several beautiful rainbows. At the top there were a few telescopes, some belonged to the Hawaii University, and some to the US Government. We also saw a plant there that once it bloomed it died, It might live for years before it does bloom. This plant is called a Ahainahina Plant.

After we came back down we headed to a local farm. The name of it is O’O Farm’s. This is where we had lunch, The salad was literally picked, washed and served 30min’s before we set down to eat. It was so fresh, they explained what all was in it. Every thing was eatable. There was a flower in it that we were told that it had kind of a nutty taste I loved it but it did have kind of a hot taste to it. They also grow their on coffee and Tea. They supply Veggies to the Pacific’O Restraints found in Hawaii and California.

Next we headed for the Mo Valley Overlook before heading back to the Hotel. This was a fun and beautiful day.

After viewing the Volcano on the Big Island we headed back down to the Hilo airport. We flew out to Maui, which was about a 30 min. flight. after loading on the bus and heading for the Royal Lahaina, It was around 7:30pm when we arrived. We all went to our rooms dropped of our luggage and headed down to the on sight restraint. Charlotte had a Salad with Salmon and she loved it, I chose BBQ ribs which I enjoyed but they weren’t as good as the ones back home in Texas.

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We were up early and loaded on the bus for Hilo Hawaii where we would catch our flight to the next Island. But first we would make a day of site seeing on the way. Heading around to the other side of the island we stopped at the southern most bakery in the United States. It is called Punalu’u Bake Shop, where we had a Malasada which is a Portuguese-style donuts.

After getting back on the road we stopped at Black sand beach. It is a beautiful beach. If you pick up the sand and look at it, the sand looks like gun powder. It is made of crushed lava. It is hard to walk on for it shifts under your feet. The Green Sea Turtles come here to dry out there shell’s.

Then on to Volcanoes National Park. Where you could look at the steam rising out of the Volcano. We were able to go into a Lava tube, which was created when the flowing lava would harden and then flow out leaving the harden empty tube. We had a late lunch at Volcano House restaurant in the park which over looked the crater of the volcano. There were two rocking chairs that cost about $5000.00 a peace. they are made of one of the hardest and now protected wood in Hawaii.